The White Wolves of Aldyrion
by ElfWarrior
Summary: Legolas & Aragorn are traveling around and meet a strange elf with a dark past—who's living with a wolf pack. They're soon pulled into someone else's problems—again. NOT A SLASH OR A LEGOLAS-ROMANCE! Rated for torture & minor cusswords. [COMPLETE]
1. Mirkwood

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters appearing in the _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy.

A/N: The elvish glossary is at the bottom of the page.

Aragorn looked down the path over the wastelands and smiled. It had been too long since he'd been back here, to Mirkwood. It had been too long since he'd seen the friends who lived here.

The life of a wanderer was a hard one, but it was worth the price. Most of the time.

The ranger started across the long strip of barren ground. He didn't want to be caught out there come nightfall.

Once he'd reached it, the wood was an unusual mix of comfort, welcome, malice, and warning. Aragorn loosened his sword in its sheath and cast a nervous glance around him. He wished Thranduil's palace was closer to the edge of the forest...

An arrow struck the tree directly to the left of his head, quivering in the trunk. "Next one goes through your eye, human!" a voice called out in accented common. "Tell us who you are and what your business is here!"

Aragorn sighed. After all this time, they still snuck up on him. Maybe by the time he'd reached him hundredth year, he'd be able to detect the elves' presence. "I am called Strider," he shouted back, "friend to your prince, Legolas Greenleaf."

The branches of several nearby trees rustled, and ten elves dropped to the ground before him. One squinted at him. "Aragorn?"

The ranger grinned as he recognized the elf. "Falior, _mae govannen!"_

Falior laughed merrily. "_Suilad, son of Arathorn! My eyes see with joy! It has been too long! Come back with us to the palace. Legolas will be glad indeed to see you."_

"And I him."

Falior and another elf named Meriliel led Aragorn to Thranduil's castle, laughing and smiling. Aragorn was glad to be among them once more.

The palace was just as he had remembered it. It was good to know that some things never really changed.

"Aragorn!"

The ranger turned and smiled broadly. "Legolas!"

The elf ran up the path to greet him. He held out a hand, which Aragorn took and used to pull his friend into a bear hug. Legolas gave a small, undignified "oof!" of surprise before returning the embrace with equal enthusiasm. "What took you so long to return?" he asked as they broke apart.

Aragorn shrugged. "The life of a wanderer, _nin mellon."_

Legolas rolled his eyes and led the way up the path. "If you keep running off like that, you will get yourself killed."

"So my family has been telling me for years."

"They are right, you know. When you leave Mirkwood this time, I will come and look after you."

Aragorn halted abruptly. "What kind of crazed masochist are you?" he asked incredulously.

"Very amusing. I am growing bored, Aragorn."

"Bored? Here?"

"Yes. I need a quick adventure."

"Be careful what you wish for, friend."

Legolas raised his eyebrows. "Do not try to tell me what to do, son of Arathorn. And so not try to dissuade me."

"You can't be serious!"

"Why not?"

"Legolas, the last time we left Mirkwood together, we each were almost killed on more than one occasion! We faced orcs, torture, cave-ins, giant spiders..." The ranger's voice trailed off.

"Dwarves," Legolas added. "Do not forget the dwarves."

"Exactly! And you want to go through that again?"

"It would be a change. I need a change."

Aragorn threw up his hands. Legolas smiled slightly. "Aragorn, I am not a child. I am merely bored." His smile widened. "Besides, I do not see how you could stop me. Where do you plan to go next?"

Aragorn sighed and grinned. "I can't say I'm unhappy to have you coming with me, but what will your father say?"

"He is not responsible for me, but he agrees that it has grown tiresome here since your last visit. I am released from my duties—for a time, at least. Now, where are we going?"

Aragorn threw back his head and laughed. "Ah, Legolas, I have missed you!"

"Then stop treating me as if I were less than you!" Legolas protested. "I can still outfight you, human!"

Without breaking stride, Legolas kicked Aragorn's feet out from under him. The ranger fell over backwards, landing in an undignified heap on the stones. Legolas smiled down at him. "So there."

Aragorn scowled at him, but couldn't hold the pretense of anger for long. He grinned again. "Yes, my lord, you are still better than me. In all things, of course. I wouldn't expect anything less from—"

Legolas cuffed the side of his head good-naturedly. "Get up! My father awaits us. He, too, will be glad to see you again."

"Even if it means sending you on your way?"

"Perhaps."

I know this chapter's kinda uneventful, but it gets better. Promise.

**Elvish Glossary: **

avo garo: don't do it

avon: I won't

a gellam: oh joy

mae govannen: well met

Meril: "Rose"

nin mellon: my friend

meleth: love

mûl: slave

Sadron: "Faithful one"

suilad: greetings

Talagan: "Harper"

raug: demon

Rhovan: "Wild"


	2. Sadron

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anyone in the trilogy. Or Unfinished Tales etc.

A/N: The glossary is still on the bottom.

"I thought you said your father would be glad to see me."

"He was. He was just even more glad to get rid of you."

"That makes me feel appreciated."

Aragorn had entered Mirkwood only two days ago. Now he and Legolas were leaving much faster than he'd expected they would. "Is he planning some sort of surprise party for your birthing-day or something?" the man asked.

"I do not think my father would concern himself with birthing-day parties for me," Legolas replied a bit stiffly. "But come, now that we are free of the forest, tell me what has passed since you last came to Mirkwood."

Aragorn launched into an only slightly exaggerated version of all that had happened since he'd last seen Legolas. The elf was a good audience. He laughed when he was supposed to, exclaimed over the amazing parts, and gasped at the tense parts.

Aragorn's stories lasted them the better part of the day. That evening, after they had set wire snares near their camp and lit a small fire, he even managed to think of one more before slumber took him.

Legolas watched his friend sleep, a faint smile on his lips. Humans. Aragorn hadn't changed much, which was comforting. Legolas doubted the ranger would ever truly be the strong and silent type. He also doubted that there was any real need for a watch in this area, so he lay down and stared up at the stars. _Gil-Estel, Ëarendil, the Star of Hope, was high in the sky. He fell asleep watching it._

Morning came quickly. Legolas woke first, and in turn woke Aragorn. After a hasty meal, they split up to check the snares.

The first two Legolas came upon were empty. Before he could inspect the third, however, he heard Aragorn calling him.

"Legolas! Legolas, come quickly!"

Legolas spun around and ran toward the sound of his friend's voice. He reached him not long after, breathing evenly and with an arrow notched and ready.

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to find, but it wasn't this. Aragorn stood, sword drawn, before a large white wolf. The wolf's right forefoot was caught in one of their snares, and she was snarling ferociously.

"I didn't think our snares were strong enough to hold a wolf," Aragorn said disbelievingly.

"Neither did I." Legolas shook his head. "She'll kill us if we cut her loose."

"And she can't chew her way free, so we can't leave her here."

Legolas shook his head again and drew his bow. The wolf's snarls deepened.

_"Avo garo!" a voice shouted._

A figure dove in front of the wolf. Legolas barely turned his bow aside in tome to save the newcomer's life. The arrow flew past him.

An elf, short for one of his kind and even more slender than most, stood before them. He held a spear in his right hand, his thick, short, tousled black hair fell into his gray eyes, and his clothes were old, dirty, patched with raw leather, and ripped at the knees and elbows.

They were also, Legolas noted, of human make.

"Leave her alone," the strange elf gritted.

"Are you out of your mind?" Aragorn asked him.

The elf fixed him with a steely gaze and repeated his words. "Leave her alone. She is one of the White Wolves of Aldyrion. She does not serve the Great Enemy, and she would sooner rip the throat out of an orc than let it ride her. Leave her alone."

"Who are you?" Legolas asked. "I have never heard of Aldyrion, nor the White Wolves."

"Aldyrion lies far to the north," the strange elf explained, "beyond the Grey Mountains. Few know of it, and few who live there know of the White Wolves, but that is better for the wolves. The humans would hunt them down and kill them. Aldyrion has become a foul place over the last century."

"And how do you know this?" Aragorn wanted to know.

"I spent the last sixty years in Aldyrion," he snapped. "The last twenty of those were with the wolves."

"Who are you?" Legolas asked again.

"I am called Sadron. This is Snowfire." He gestured to the trapped wolf behind him.

"You know her name?" Aragorn said skeptically.

Sadron gave a fierce, feral grin. "One learns much in twenty years."

Snowfire barked sharply. Legolas reached for another arrow, and Aragorn hefted his sword. Sadron knelt next to the wolf and set down his spear. He drew a knife from his boot and cut her free.

She didn't run away, didn't attack her rescuer. She turned her head, licked his cheek, and sat docilely next to him as he rose, spear in hand once more.

"Who are _you?" Sadron asked. "You've trapped my friend, and you know my name. I believe I have a right to know yours."_

"I am Strider, and my companion is Legolas," Aragorn introduced. "Is your wolf, uh, tame?"

"Tame?" Sadron laughed. "About as tame as a hurricane. She's not my pet, she's my packmate."

"Packmate?"

"I told you, little human: I lived with the wolves for twenty years. I was part of the pack."

Before either Legolas or Aragorn could question this, three wolf-howls split the air. The ranger's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.

"Wargs," Legolas hissed.

Sadron laughed. "Not wargs." Almost in unison, he and Snowfire threw back their heads and howled.

"I don't think I like this person," Aragorn muttered.

Sadron and Snowfire finished howling and turned back to Legolas and Aragorn. "They wanted to know where we are," the elf explained.

"Who did?" Legolas managed, too shocked to say more.

"Nightwind, Stardance, and Sunrunner," Sadron replied calmly. "They came with me when I left the pack."

"If you don't mind my asking, why did you leave your—pack?" Aragorn asked. "What were you doing in Aldyrion in the first place for sixty years? You have the look of the Rivendell elves about you."

Sadron's face darkened. He almost visibly closed in on himself. "None of your business," he snarled. Before wither of them could say anything else, he dashed away, Snowfire in close pursuit.

"Well," Aragorn said briskly once they'd gaped after Sadron for a moment. "I'm glad to be rid of him."

Legolas shook his head. "Why? There has to be a reason for his being so—strange."

"You're just on his side because he's an elf!" Aragorn accused.

"Perhaps. But I am sure whatever happened to him in Aldyrion has something to do with it. Perhaps he lost his family. He said he spent forty years there before he went to the wolves."

"That's another thing. An elf, consorting with wolves?"

"He said they aren't evil."

"And about as tame as a hurricane." Aragorn sighed. "Come on. Let's finish checking the snares."

Ha, see, it got better!

**Elvish Glossary: **

avo garo: don't do it

avon: I won't

a gellam: oh joy

mae govannen: well met

Meril: "Rose"

nin mellon: my friend

meleth: love

mûl: slave

Sadron: "Faithful one"

suilad: greetings

Talagan: "Harper"

raug: demon

Rhovan: "Wild"


	3. The Wargs

Disclaimer: I still don't own 'em.

That evening, as they rest in a small, forested area, Aragorn insisted they post a watch. "What if that crazy elf comes after us with his 'pack', wanting revenge for the capture of his 'packmate'?"

"He's an elf," Legolas protested. "I do not think he would be so petty."

"Don't be too sure. And will you stop defending him because of his race? If he were a man—"

"If he were a man, things would be different. But you are right. I will take the first watch. Now go to sleep."

Aragorn lay down grumpily, muttered darkly about elves and their arrogance. Legolas leaned back to watch the stars.

In the distance, a wolf howled. Legolas wondered if it was a warg or a White Wolf, and if Sadron had been telling the truth about them—everything about them, from their choice of sides in the great war in their acceptance of the strange elf into their pack.

A second howl joined the first, then another, and another, and another. A pack of five. Either five definite foes or five possible friends. The White Wolves of Aldyrion...could it be that Sadron had actually told the truth?

Another set of howls, fiercer, darker, and crueler, floated across the still air. A shiver ran down the listening elf's spine. These were the wargs, he knew. There must be a pack of them near here.

The White Wolves stopped howling, but the wargs continued theirs. The sound came from the same direction of the Aldyrion wolves, but farther away.

The warg-howls grew louder, closer. Legolas glanced at Aragorn. The ranger was crouched next to the fire, sword in one hand, a burning brand from the fire in the other. "Do you think they're coming this way?" he whispered.

"I do not know." Legolas set an arrow to the string of his bow.

When the cried continued to increase in volume and intensity, Aragorn cursed and scooped up his coat, which he'd been using as a pillow. Legolas hurriedly put out the fire.

"Which way do we go?" Aragorn asked, his face eerily lit by the light of the single torch he still held.

Legolas opened his mouth to reply, but before he could speak, Sadron and the White Wolves of Aldyrion burst into the clearing.

Sadron and his pack pulled up short. "Run," he choked out. "They're coming."

"Wha—" Aragorn started, but Legolas grabbed him and took off as Sadron and the wolves ran past them.

"What are they chasing?" the human asked Sadron as they pounded through the forest.

"Us," the elf said shortly. "Save your breath, human, and run."

_Why, Aragorn wondered, __do I always end up running for my life from someone else's enemies? And why am I now running with someone I don't even know, but what little I do know, I dislike and distrust? My life is so strange._

They broke out of the forest, Snowfire and the other wolves leading the way. Aragorn tried to look back and stumbled. Legolas caught him and pulled him up, not slowing.

The wargs poured out of the forest, at least twenty of them—more than any natural wolf pack. They yipped and howled, delighting in the chase and anticipation of the kill.

All seven were running full out now. The breath came hard in their throats. The wargs, sensing that the end was near, picked up the pace. Their prey struggled up a hill and almost stopped when they saw what was before them. One warg drew ahead of the pack and lunged for Sadron. The elf whipped his spear around; holding it out straight and letting the animal impale itself on it. "Come on!" he called to his companions. "Keep running!"

Less than a quarter mile away, the rolling land dropped away sharply into a steep cliff. They wouldn't be able to make their way around it before the wargs caught them.

Sadron could see the glimmer of starlight on water beyond the cliff's edge. "Jump it!" he ordered.

_"What?" Aragorn gasped._

"There's no chance of survival against so many wargs! This way, we have a faint chance! There's nothing for it; just go!"

"Dear Elbereth!" Legolas managed. "This is insane!"

"You wanted—an adventure," Aragorn panted.

"This is not what I had in mind."

The cliff was coming up before them. As they leapt over the edge, Aragorn tripped. He would have fallen to his death against the rocky wall had Sadron not grabbed the back of his coat and dragged him out over the lake with him. He reached down and drew the ranger's sword as they fell, tossing it and his spear away.

The wargs howled in disappointment, the White Wolves howled in fear, and Sadron, Aragorn, and Legolas screamed in terror.

Gotta love the cliffhangers! I'll post quicker if you review!

**Elvish Glossary: **

avo garo: don't do it

avon: I won't

a gellam: oh joy

mae govannen: well met

Meril: "Rose"

nin mellon: my friend

meleth: love

mûl: slave

Sadron: "Faithful one"

suilad: greetings

Talagan: "Harper"

raug: demon

Rhovan: "Wild"


	4. Sadron's Surprise

Disclaimer: I don't own any one in LOTR.

They hit the water hard. Legolas lost sight of the other in the fray of bubbles. He found the starlight and kicked his way towards it, keeping a tight hold on his rising panic as his air began to run out.

He reached the surface, gasping and trembling, unable to believe that he was actually alive. The lake must have been very deep; he would have been dead otherwise.

He swam slowly, tiredly, to shore. Two of the wolves had already reached it and were shaking themselves dry. A third was just climbing up to the shore.

Legolas crawled up onto the pebbly beach and collapsed, breathing hard. There was no sign of Sadron, Snowfire, or—most importantly, to him—Aragorn.

The elf forced himself up onto his elbows. "Aragorn?" he called. "Aragorn!"

One of the wolves began to howl mournfully.

"Aragorn!"

Sadron's head suddenly broke through the surface. He gasped desperately for air, struggling to stay afloat. Snowfire was draped across his shoulder, and he held an unconscious Aragorn up with his free arm.

Legolas ran out into the lake to help him. He took Aragorn as Sadron stumbled in the waist-deep water. The wolves relieved the over-burdened elf of Snowfire and dragged her onto the beach.

Legolas set Aragorn down against a log of driftwood and felt his wrist for a pulse. Strong and steady.

The ranger began to cough. Legolas grinned. He would be alright.

One of the wolves came up next to Legolas and barked at him. "What?" the elf asked, annoyed.

The wolf grabbed the sleeve of his tunic in her teeth and pulled. "Stop that!"

Aragorn groaned and opened his eyes. "Nightdance, Sunfire, Snowrunner, or Starwind, whichever one you are, let him go."

The wolf growled and looked back behind her. Legolas followed her gaze. "Oh."

Sadron lay half in and half out of the water, his packmates prowling nervously around him.

Legolas stumbled to his feet and pulled Sadron up next to Aragorn. He slapped the other elf's cheek lightly to wake him. Sadron moaned and came round slowly.

The wolf who had tried to get Legolas' attention shoved him out of the way and licked Sadron's face. "I am well, Stardance," the elf managed, slipping into his native tongue. "Is Snowfire?"

Stardance made no sign Legolas could see, but Sadron sighed and relaxed. He shot Legolas a sidelong glance. "And the human?"

"I have a name," Aragorn cut in, using the same language. "Please use it."

Sadron turned a shocked glare on the ranger. "How is it that you, a man, speak the tongue of the elves?"

"Sadron," Legolas said, "he is Aragorn."

"I thought his name was Strider, and Aragorn is long dead."

"Called Strider, called Estel, he is Aragorn. The second," he added.

Sadron looked puzzled. "What? Should I know that name? There is no second Aragorn."

There was a pause. "Where are you from?" Legolas said at last. "What elf has not heard of Aragorn, son of Arathorn?"

Sadron snapped his gaze back to Aragorn. "You are the son of Arathorn?"

Aragorn nodded.

Sadron grinned. "He is well, then? I cannot wait to see him! We have sixty years to catch up on!"

An uncomfortable silence fell. Sadron looked from one solemn face to the other. "What is wrong?"

"My father died when I was very young," Aragorn explained finally.

Disbelief warred with sadness on the elf's elegant features. "It's probably better this way," he murmured as if to himself. "Neither of us could have borne it if I hated even him after..." He broke off suddenly, his face a careful mask once more.

"What happened?" Aragorn asked, not unkindly.

Sadron shrank away from the man, trembling furiously. "No," he whispered, in elvish once more. "No, you're just like them—you're _human—"_

He was shaking now, so hard his teeth chattered. Legolas put a hand on his shoulder. "Sadron, it's alright. Neither of us will hurt you."

"Let us go, let us go!" he cried, eyes wide and pupils mere pinpoints. Obviously living in the past now, Sadron rocked back and forth, holding himself tightly and not seeing anyone before him. "Damn you, let us go! I'll die before I let you so much as _touch me!" Tears streamed down his cheeks. "Leave my brother alone! No! __No! _Avon, avon!_ I'll __kill you!"_

Stardance pushed her way to Sadron, followed by the other wolves. They crowded around their packmate, yipping and whimpering. Stardance licked Sadron's forehead.

"I'll kill that _raug," he choked. "Oh, Rhovan..."_

"He must be in shock," Aragorn guessed, draping his saturated coat around the sobbing elf. Sadron clutched the material to him. "Does he do this often?" the ranger added to Stardance, not really expecting an answer.

The wolf shook her head vigorously. She closed her eyes, and Aragorn and Legolas heard a voice inside their heads. _~It has been twenty years since Wildheart's death,~ Stardance told them. __~He is still missed. I believe that elven family ties are stronger, perhaps, than even ours.~_

Legolas leapt back in surprise. "You speak!"

_~Yes, I can speak.~ Amusement thickened her voice. __~We all do.~ The other wolves came up behind her, tall, proud, and mysterious. Sadron had slipped back into unconsciousness. __~Those of elven blood can hear us best—even those with as little blood as you, son of Arathorn.~_

Aragorn shut his open mouth with a snap. "Uh, Starfire, I—"

_~My name is Stardance.~ Her eyes laughed at him. __~I am lead female of the pack. My mate Nightwind is lead male.~ Nightwind, the biggest wolf, raised his head. __~Sunrunner is our cub.~ Sunrunner pricked up his ears and wagged his tail. __~Snowfire is my sister.~ Snowfire showed them her fangs. __~She doesn't like you,~ Stardance explained unnecessarily. __~But do not take offense. Snowfire does not like non-wolves, except for Songblade.~ She turned, walked several paces, and looked at them over her shoulder. __~Are you coming or not? You need to dry off, all three of you, and I can't make fire.~_

Aragorn scooped up Sadron. "Where do we go?" he asked Legolas, who turned to Stardance.

_~This way.~_

They trudged around the lake to a small copse of trees, where Aragorn and Legolas hastily gathered wood and started a fire. The wolves left to hunt, after extracting an oath from both of their new friends that Sadron would be safe with them.

By now, both Legolas and Aragorn were shivering. The ranger sat close to the fire, hugging himself tightly.

Sadron groaned. Legolas turned to look at him. They'd leaned him against a convenient rock, and his eyes were now wide open and glassy with fever. "He took ill quickly," Aragorn observed as Legolas pushed up Sadron's sleeve to check for a pulse.

"Aragorn," he said suddenly. "Come look at this."

"What?"

"Look."

He held out Sadron's arm. Aragorn's eyes widened in surprise. The elf's wrist was encircled by an ugly scar—a scar from years of ill-fitting manacles.

Aragorn opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, the wolves came back. Snowfire was dragging a young deer, and Sunrunner was frolicking along next to her.

Stardance trotted up to Sadron and nudged his head with her bloodstained muzzle. _~I think the wound has worsened,~ she told them._

"What wound?" Aragorn asked.

Stardance brushed her paw against Sadron's right side. He moaned and curled up around it.

_~It happened when we left Aldyrion,~ Stardance explained as Legolas unbuckled Sadron's belt. __~The king's men attacked us and hurt Songblade.~_

"Songblade?" Aragorn sounded confused.

~The wolf-name of our packmate, as Rhovan's was Wildheart. I think the blade that dealt the wound was poisoned.~

Legolas pushed Sadron's shirt up past his ribs. His entire torso was thickly bandaged, and he was even skinnier than he looked. Blood stained the cloth along the line of his injury. Legolas fumbled with the small, tight knot just below where the bloodstain ended.

"Why did the king's men attack Sadron?" Aragorn asked. "Because he lived with your pack? Or does it have something to do with the chain scars on his wrists?"

Legolas gave up on the knot and cut it off. "Was he a slave?"

_~The old king held Wildheart and Songblade captive for forty years,~ Nightwind said. His mental voice was deeper and richer than Stardance's._

"Who was Rhovan-Wildheart?"

_~Songblade's twin brother.~_

Legolas yelped suddenly and leapt back, almost into the fire.

"What's wrong?" Aragorn's hand went automatically to his empty scabbard, his eyes darting across the clearing.

Legolas pointed a trembling finger at the unconscious elf. "I—he—ah—" he stuttered.

Aragorn frowned. "I have _never seen you at a loss for words before. What's the matter?"_

_"Look!" Legolas finally managed._

Aragorn did so. His eyes bulged, and he opened and closed his mouth several times. No sound came out.

Sunrunner came up to the ranger and put his paws on the man's knees, peering into his face. _~You look like a frog when you do that,~ he informed him._

"But he's a _woman!" Aragorn all but shrieked._

*Cackle* Did I fool you? Review and tell me.

**Elvish Glossary: **

avo garo: don't do it

avon: I won't

a gellam: oh joy

mae govannen: well met

Meril: "Rose"

nin mellon: my friend

meleth: love

mûl: slave

Sadron: "Faithful one"

suilad: greetings

Talagan: "Harper"

raug: demon

Rhovan: "Wild"


	5. Blood and Darkness

I screwed up majorly and posted the chapter ahead of this first. Terribly sorry to all of you who read that one first. And thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews!

_~Didn't you know that?~ the young wolf said cheerfully. __~I guess humans really are as stupid as she said.~_

Snowfire made a scornful noise. _~Songblade spent forty years as their slave. She ought to know.~ The wolf glared at Legolas. __~Female or not, that wound needs to be tended to. Heal my packmate, trapsetter.~_

Recovering from the shock, Legolas gave her a slight smile as he knelt beside the wounded elf. "I believe Aragorn set the trap that caught you, Snowfire."

_~I do not care.~_

"Kind sort, isn't she?" Aragorn muttered.

_~She's not very nice,~ Sunrunner whispered. __~But you do need to heal Songblade. We couldn't stand to lose her after all this time...~ His voice trailed off, and he looked away. __~She was with us when my mother was a pup—when her__ mother was a pup. She went through so much with our pack. We love her.~_

Legolas pushed the bandaging away from Sadron's wound, which was clearly infected. The flesh around the long, deep cut was red and warm to the touch. Aragorn looked over Sunrunner's shoulder and whistled in awe. "How did he—she manage to run—let alone fight and swim—with that?"

_~She is a wolf,~ Snowfire said, as if that explained everything, just as Legolas, in the exact same tone, answered, "She is an elf." They exchanged a look, and the elf continued. "You are a better healer than I, son of Elrond."_

"Why do people only call me that when they want me to heal someone?"

"I do not only call you that then."

"Yes, you do! Otherwise it's 'son of Arathorn'!"

"I usually call you 'Aragorn'."

"But when you're talking about my father—"

_~Silence!~ Nightwind snarled. __~Just heal her, unnamed one.~_

"He has plenty of names, I assure you," Legolas pointed out as Aragorn tentatively inspected Sadron's wound.

_~He does not have a wolf-name.~_

"'Strider' is almost a wolf-name."

~'Strider'? I suppose it will have to do. And what of you, elf? What shall we call you?~

"My name means 'Greenleaf'."

_~Greenleaf?~ Sunrunner cocked his head to one side. __~You're not green.~_

_~Your wolf-name is not Greenleaf,~ Nightwind assured the elf. __~We will find it someday.~_

"Legolas, there's a shard of the blade embedded in here," Aragorn announced. "It must have scraped along her ribs and chipped off. Can you get it out while I hold her? Your hands are steadier."

Legolas nodded. "Where is the shard?"

"About here." Aragorn pointed to the center of the jagged cut. He settled himself behind Sadron and held her. "Get it out."

Legolas took a deep breath and drew his knife. "I hope this is clean enough."

"It's an elven blade; it should be alright."

He gently set the tip against Sadron's side and began to probe the wound, trying to find the exact location of the poisonous shard. She stifled a cry and began to struggle. Aragorn clamped his arms around her. "Hurry! She's stronger than she looks!"

Legolas found the shard. and drove his blade in slowly, trying to pry it out. Sadron screamed. The wolves looked on anxiously, pacing back and forth.

"I have it!"

Legolas held up a slender bit of metal, about two inches long, in one bloodstained hand. Aragorn let Sadron go. She swung her fist up and hit him in the eye. "Ouch!" he yelped, clapping a hand to his face. 

Legolas bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"Has the bandaging in my pack dried yet?" the ranger gritted as he pressed his free hand against Sadron's wound to stop the bleeding.

"Here." The elf-prince passed it to him.

"Thanks." He bound up the wound efficiently. "She should be alright now—but when she wakes up, she'll have some questions to answer."

*          *            *

Sadron woke up the next morning as Aragorn and Legolas were cooking breakfast—the remains of last night's deer, the side that _hadn't been dragged halfway across the forest by a wolf pack. She put a hand to her side, noticing the new bandaging, and the fact that her breasts were no longer bound flat. She didn't have time to say anything before the wolves mobbed her, making sure their beloved packmate was well._

"You're up at last," the ranger noted dryly as Sadron's pack finally backed off. She noticed that he had a black eye, and wondered absentmindedly what he'd done to himself. "You had us frightened for a while there."

Sadron didn't say anything. She draped her arm around Stardance, twining her fingers in the wolf-queen's fur.

"Sadron?"

"It's Sadroniel," she murmured. "You might as well know now."

"Sadroniel, then."

"What happened after you told me of Arathorn's death?" she asked, much subdued.

_~You began to live in the past,~ Stardance told her. __~You cried out for Wildheart and cursed Tharad.~ Sadroniel's jaw tightened at the name.__ ~The elf Legolas who has to be named removed the splinter of poisoned iron from your wound, and Strider bound it up.~_

Sadroniel looked up sharply. "You healed me? Why?"

Aragorn frowned quizzically. "Why not? You saved my life."

"Shame," Legolas muttered. Aragorn threw a stick at him.

"I—did?"

"In the lake. Not only did you get rid of the sword that would have weighed me down, but you dragged me and Snowfire out of the water."

"Snowfire and me," Legolas corrected.

"Count on you to correct my grammar when we're out in the middle of nowhere," Aragorn snapped.

"A king must be well-spoken," the elf said elegantly. "Even an uncrowned one."

_"A gellam," was the muttered reply._

Sadroniel smiled in spite of herself. Her companions smiled back.

"I fear I must ask you a delicate question," Legolas began. "You don't have to answer."

"What?" Sadroniel looked suspicious.

"What happened to you?"

She didn't say anything for a long time, and Aragorn began to fear that Legolas had offended her. But then she spoke, and she told them everything.


	6. The Tale of Aldyrion

Sadron woke up the next morning as Aragorn and Legolas were cooking breakfast—the remains of last night's deer, the side that _hadn't been dragged halfway across the forest by a wolf pack. She put a hand to her side, noticing the new bandaging, and the fact that her breasts were no longer bound flat. She didn't have time to say anything before the wolves mobbed her, making sure their beloved packmate was well._

"You're up at last," the ranger noted dryly as Sadron's pack finally backed off. She noticed that he had a black eye, and wondered absentmindedly what he'd done to himself. "You had us frightened for a while there."

Sadron didn't say anything. She draped her arm around Stardance, twining her fingers in the wolf-queen's fur.

"Sadron?"

"It's Sadroniel," she murmured. "You might as well know now."

"Sadroniel, then."

"What happened after you told me of Arathorn's death?" she asked, much subdued.

_~You began to live in the past,~ Stardance told her. __~You cried out for Wildheart and cursed Tharad.~ Sadroniel's jaw tightened at the name.__ ~The elf Legolas who has to be named removed the splinter of poisoned iron from your wound, and Strider bound it up.~_

Sadroniel looked up sharply. "You healed me? Why?"

Aragorn frowned quizzically. "Why not? You saved my life."

"Shame," Legolas muttered. Aragorn threw a stick at him.

"I—did?"

"In the lake. Not only did you get rid of the sword that would have weighed me down, but you dragged me and Snowfire out of the water."

"Snowfire and me," Legolas corrected.

"Count on you to correct my grammar when we're out in the middle of nowhere," Aragorn snapped.

"A king must be well-spoken," the elf said elegantly. "Even an uncrowned one."

_"A gellam," was the muttered reply._

Sadroniel smiled in spite of herself. Her companions smiled back.

"I fear I must ask you a delicate question," Legolas began. "You don't have to answer."

"What?" Sadroniel looked suspicious.

"What happened to you?"

She didn't say anything for a long time, and Aragorn began to fear that Legolas had offended her. But then she spoke, and she told them everything.

*          *            *

Rhovan and Sadroniel were a pair of imps as children, inseparable and mischievous, wild as a thunderstorm. Their father, Talagan, was one of Rivendell's finest bards and an excellent horseman, a talent he had passed onto his son, but not his daughter. Their mother Meril, on the other hand, was one of the best warriors, like her daughter, but unlike her son.

When the twins were still young, but no longer children, the family left Rivendell to map the land beyond the Grey Mountains, and had just crossed the mountains when they were attacked.

Men burst out of the underbrush. Talagan was dead almost before anyone could react. Meril didn't last much longer—both Sadroniel and Rhovan knew she wouldn't want to live without Talagan. The men dragged Rhovan off his horse and clipped heavy chains around his wrists, ankles, and neck and dragged him away.

Sadroniel was ahead scouting. She didn't see any of the fight, but she found her parents' broken bloody bodies in the snow. She tracked the men to their keep and snuck inside, determined to rescue her brother.

They caught her. King Tharad was delighted at this opportunity—not one, but two elven slaves. But it would be better to show of the woman, by his way of thinking. He kept Rhovan captive in a dungeon where the elf never saw the light. Sadroniel was forced to obey the king's orders, else her brother be tortured to death.

The beatings and humiliation were bad enough, but when Tharad decided she would share his bed—Sadroniel flatly refused. The Aldyrions had a strict taboo against rape, a trait that saved her, but not Rhovan. Tharad came through on his promise—he tortured Rhovan for days. Sadroniel heard his screams.

For forty years the twins never saw each other and spoke only in screams. Tharad grew old. One day, he was out hunting, a common practice among the Aldyrions, while Sadroniel scrubbed floors.

One of the guards who had stayed behind came up from the dungeons with a grin on his face. "Your brother's dying," he told her.

Sadroniel ignored him. She didn't believe him, she couldn't believe him, though death would be a relief after this.

"He screamed like a woman when we burned out his eyes."

Sadroniel's fingers clenched the rag too hard for it to be of any use. Her chains rattled on the floor.

"He wept like a child when we cut off his bow fingers."

When Sadroniel didn't react, he grabbed the chain attached to her collar and jerked it. She fell back, choking and sliding on the soapy floor. "Show some emotion, bitch! I'll do you like I did your brother!"

Some thing broke inside Sadroniel. Forty years of rage, pain, and, helplessness, forty years with no name but "Mûl", forty years of hell and torment flamed up within her. She spun around, and the look in her eyes made the guard stumbled back. He slipped and went down hard. Sadroniel's bare feet had more traction than his booted ones did, and as he tried to scramble upright, she jumped on his back, looping her chains around his neck and tugging hard.

Once he was unconscious, she took the dagger from his belt and slit his throat. She used the bloody blade to pick the locks of her chains and, thus freed, she ran down the stone steps to Rhovan's cell.

She found him. Like the guard had said, his eyes had been burned out and his bow fingers cut off. The points of his ears had been sliced off. His clothes were ripped and tattered, his fingers had been smashed and broken, and his back was twisted. He was scarred almost beyond recognition.

He had looped a chain around his neck and hung himself.

Sadroniel wept bitterly. She didn't blame her brother for leaving—she blamed Tharad. She swore to kill him.

She took what she needed and shot Tharad with a poisoned arrow when he returned from the hunt. She fled into the wild, and almost starved to death. Winter was in full swing, and the White Wolves of Aldyrion found her half-dead, frozen and hungry, on the tundra. They led her to their den and cared for her, and she stayed with them for twenty years before Tharad's son Dariad sought vengeance. It was his men attacked that her pack, his men that killed Stormwing and drove Sadroniel, Stardance, Nightwind, Snowfire, and Sunrunner out of Aldyrion. They searched for a female elf in the company of wolves, so she disguised herself, and only half the pack accompanied her. They bid Brightheart, Moonlight, Rainsong, and Icefeather farewell and began the long journey south.__

*          *            *

Aragorn and Legolas were silent. "That's why I hate humans," Sadroniel murmured. "They killed my brother. They killed my mother. They killed my father. They held me captive for forty years of hell." She looked away from them. "I know not all humans are like that—Arathorn was my friend—but I can't help it. I can't stop hating."

"But you saved my life," Aragorn said again.

"So?"

"Would you have saved me if you truly hated all humans? You weren't very fond of me at that time, but you didn't hate me. You couldn't have. Don't be a fool."

Sadroniel stared at him with wide eyes.

_~Strider is right,~ Nightwind said firmly. __~We have been trying to convince you for twenty years, Songblade. You are not wicked. You do not hate all humans, and you do not hate without reason. You have been away from home long enough. It is time for you to return to Rivendell.~_

"Rivendell." Sadroniel breathed the name like a caress. "Imladris." Legolas saw tears in her eyes. "I'm going home." She cleared her throat and stood taller. "It is time. Let me retrieve my spear."

Sunrunner and Sadroniel ran down to the lake and returned not long after with her spear and Aragorn's sword. The ranger sheathed the blade with a sigh, and they turned their path toward Imladris.


	7. Home

Disclaimer: Read ch. 1 if you've forgotten.

Quick note: thank you SO MUCH for the reviews!!! Mizalye's really inspired me to finish this.

Two elves, a man, and five wolves stood at the edge of a cliff, looking down into the valley that held the fabled Rivendell as the sun set. Aragorn and Legolas had the tact to pretend they didn't notice the tears on Sadroniel's cheeks, tears she quickly rubbed away.

"Tell me," she said to Aragorn as they started down. "What has become of Elrond's children?"

"Arwen—" the Dúnadan said the name with a sigh that foretold trouble, "—is with her mother's people in Lothlórien."

Sadroniel sighed. "I remember Celebrían. And I remember how sad Elladan, Elrohir, and Elrond were after she departed."

"Elrohir and Elladan are here."

She looked up suddenly. "Here? Now? They're down there?" She pointed toward Rivendell.

Aragorn nodded. Sadroniel took a deep breath. "Let's hurry."

They strode boldly into the courtyard. Sadroniel was smiling uncontrollably. "I remember," she whispered to herself. "It didn't change."

The wolves sniffed the air intently. _~It's too warm here,~ Sunrunner complained._

Sadroniel laughed. "It'll be warmer yet, _meleth," she told him._

_~Drat.~_

An elf crossing the yard with a pair of buckets glanced at them and did a double take. "Estel!" he cried and, dropping both buckets, hurried toward them. Water spilled unheeded across the stones.

"Nandir!"

Nandir and Aragorn embraced, and the elf turned to his friend's companions. "Legolas, welcome! And—" His eyes widened as he saw the wolves.

"They're friends," Sadroniel assured him, a smile still flickering across her face.

Nandir's eyes widened still further. "Sadroniel?" he breathed incredulously.

"It is me."

"We thought you were dead!" Nandir flung his arms around her. Sadroniel returned the hug with equal enthusiasm.

 "I cannot believe this!" Nandir gushed, sounding very childlike. "At last, you return to us! Your family, are they well?"

Sadroniel's smile faded. "They are all dead."

Nandir's face fell. "I am sorry."

"It was long ago and far away. I am only glad to be home again."

The wolves began to howl, telling the story of their Songblade, speaking of stolen years and lost innocence, of a beloved family lost and a new one gained, of journeys and pain and hardship, and, at last, returning home.

"Wolves! There are wolves in the courtyard!"

The howling stopped as the alarm went up. Two elves, each carrying a strung bow with an arrow ready at the string, sprinted from the house.

"Get back!" one shouted, raising his bow.

_"Elrohir, no!" Sadroniel cried, diving in front of Nightwind and hefting her spear._

Elrohir's hands shook, and the bow dropped from his grip. Elladan, standing next to him, looked as if he'd seen a ghost. _"Sadroniel?" he gasped._

"Don't hurt my pack," she ordered, then ran into their arms.

Nandir smiled and shook his head, watching Elrohir and Elladan fighting each to hug Sadroniel, all three of them laughing and crying at the same time.

"I didn't know they were such good friends," Aragorn observed.

"Elrohir, Sadroniel, Elladan, and Rhovan terrorized Rivendell as younglings," Nandir explained. "You should have seen them."

The three elves finally got themselves under control. "What happened to you?" Elrohir asked.

"Where is Rhovan?" Elladan put in.

"Where have you been?"

"Why are the wolves here?"

"Are they really tame?"

"Why didn't you come back sooner?"

Sadroniel laughed and slung an arm around each of their shoulders, wincing slightly as she stretched her wounded side. "It shall be a long tale at the Hall of Fire tonight, my friends." She grinned over her shoulder at Aragorn, Legolas, and her pack, standing calmly next to Nandir. "Are you coming or not? You have your part to tell."

"As ridiculous as ever, I'm sure," Aragorn muttered dryly as the wolves galloped past him, but he followed them, with Legolas in tow.

"There is one thing that concerns me deeply," Legolas whispered to his friend as they followed Sadroniel and the twins.

"What's that?"

"Which one of them will she marry?"

"I heard that!" Sadroniel called back.

*          *            *

That night, after the tale had been told in full, tears shed, and most had taken to their beds, Sadroniel came to Legolas and Aragorn, who sat at the edge of the Hall. Aragorn was teaching Legolas a game he had learned in Bree called cards. The elf hadn't quite mastered the art of cheating.

"Thank you," she said.

They looked up with surprise. "For what?" Legolas asked.

"Everything. Just—thank you." She sat next to them. "Now deal me in."

"How do you know cards?" Aragorn wondered.

"You learn a lot as a _mûl for forty years. Deal me in, and take that card out of your sleeve."_

"Damn."

Ah, done at last! What did you think? And THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!!!! (In which they figure out Legolas' wolf name, worry not)

**Elvish Glossary: **

avo garo: don't do it

avon: I won't

a gellam: oh joy

mae govannen: well met

Meril: "Rose"

nin mellon: my friend

meleth: love

mûl: slave

Sadron: "Faithful one"

suilad: greetings

Talagan: "Harper"

raug: demon

Rhovan: "Wild"


End file.
